Heart of Darkness- Marlow Obituary

The journey to Africa deeply affected Charles Marlow upon his return to his homeland England. After witnessing many horrific crimes, behavior of the Europeans, and treatment of the African settlers, Marlow suffered from immense emotional and mental pain. He dealt with mental illness and he endured a mental breakdown due to the immense pressure and emotional issues as a result of his experience in Africa and return to England. Marlow succumbed to his mental

illness and consequently took his own life.Marlow attended a small school in England where he completed a few years of schooling. He was an intelligent man with a great work ethic. Marlow took his talents outside of the classroom and focused on his work. He took a position as a riverboat captain with a Belgium trading company. Marlow served as the captain of a steamboat. He lived with his aunt in England, whom he loved dearly.

Marlow was incredibly intelligent and had a strong desire to explore Africa. As a young child he had an immense fascination with the globe. From a very young age Marlow wished to explore the unknown continent and navigate the deadly, snake-like river. He had always had great dreams of exploration. Marlow did not necessarily desire to partake in the European

Imperialistic efforts in Africa; however, he saw this venture of Imperialism as an ideal opportunity to fulfill his childhood dreams of exploration. Charles lost the majority of his family at an early age. His aunt that he lived with is the sole survivor of his family.

His outlook on imperialism was evident through his disagreement with his aunt’s claim that he will function as “…an emissary of light, something like a lower sort of apostle” in Africa (Conrad 113). The parallel that is drawn between an apostle of Jesus and the European explorers is rather absurd, yet it reflects the European ideas during that time period. Marlow was quick to dispel his...

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...Heart of Darkness has been considered for most of this century not only as a literary classic, but as a powerful indictment of the evils of imperialism. It reflects the savage repressions carried out in the Congo by the Belgians in one of the largest acts of genocide committed up to that time. Conrad's narrator encounters at the end of the story a man named Kurtz, dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities. More recently, African critics like Chinua Achebe have pointed out that the story can be read as a racist or colonialist parable in which Africans are depicted as innately irrational and violent, and in which Africa itself is reduced to a metaphor for that which white Europeans fear within themselves. The people of Africa and the land they live in remain inscrutably alien, other. The title, they argue, implies that Africa is the "heart of darkness," where whites who "go native" risk releasing the "savage" within themselves. Defenders of Conrad sometimes argue that the narrator does not speak in Conrad's own voice, and that a layer of irony conceals his true views.
What is your impression of these opening pages from Heart of Darkness? Do the Africans seem stereotyped to you? What signs are there that the narrator is sympathetic to them?
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"I left in a French steamer, and she called in...